Copyholder and indicator for typing machines



June 1 1926-. 1,587,342v

L. T. MATHEWS COPYHOLDER AND INDICATOR FOR TYPING MACHINES Fild August 5, 192 5 sheets-sheet 1 I2 I I q: 1 I I IIIII 5 II o I o "q I I f g 3mm June 1 1926. 1,587,342

L. T. MATHEWS COPYHHLDERMAND INDICATOR FOR TYPING MACHINES Filed August 5, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I June 1 1926. 1,587,342

' L. T. MATHEWS COPYHOLDER AND INDICATOR FOR TYPING MACHINES Filed August 5, 1925 3 Sheets-$heet 5 Patented June l, 1926.

PATENT" OFFICE.

1401115 '1. MATHEWS, F HOUSTON, TEXAS.

GOPYHOLDER AND INDICATOR FOR TYPING MACHINES.

, Application filed August 3, 1925. Serial no. 47,659.

My invention relates to devices for indicating the point reached by the operator of a 'typing machine upon the copy which is being reproduced upon the said machine. It is adapted for use upon typewriters, linotypes and similar machines, where the operator has to reproduce, or copy, read1ng matter into printed characters.

It is an object of the invention to provide a copy holder, and a marker, movable thereon, so constructed as to indicate the position of the operator upon the copy at all times. It is desired that the marker be operated automatically by the carriage or some other moving part upon the type machine.

It isalso an object to make the marker adjustable so as to accommodate it to follow lines inthe copy of unequal length compared with thereproduction.

It is a. further object that the device be capable of adjustment for diflerent sizes of characters so that fine or coarse type may be followed. It is contemplated that the device. be operated either automatically or by hand, as desired.

Further objects reside in the construction and arran ement of the parts which will more clear y appear from the more detailed description WlllCll follows.

Referring to the drawing herewith, Fig. 1

' is a front-elevation of a. device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation, some parts being broken away. Fig. 3 is a transverse section partly on the line 33 of Fig. 2, but showing the upper end of the supportingframe. Fi 4 is a top plan View of the mechanism %or manually operate ing the copyholder. Fig. 5 is a side elevation partly in section through the support and reel, illustrating the mechanism similar to Fig. 4. Fig. 6 1s a top plan view partly in section of the automatic mechanism connected with the copy holder. Fig.

7 is a transverse section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6. Figs. 8 and 9 are front and side elevations respectively of the line clamping mechanism. Fig. 10 is a top plan view of the operative connection for the pointer, which may be secured to the copy holder. Fig. 11 is a numerals ofreference designate like parts in all the views.

A co y holder forming the principal portion 0 my invention includes a transverse front elevation thereof. Like bar 1, which forms a supporting base for the device. Said bar 1 is supported at one end upon legs 2 rigidly secured to said bar and the opposite end is pivot-ally attached to a supporting leg 3. Said leg is formed with a laterally extending bracket i thereon,

which fits between the two arms 5 of a bracket secured about the end of the base bar 1 by means of a pin 6. Said pin constitutes a pivot upon which the legs 3 may pivot, as will be later described.

Secured centrally of the bar 1 is an' upright guide plate 7. Said plate is of the usual width of the copy which'may be used on ordinary typing machines. It extends upwardly from the base, as shown particularly in dotted lines in Fig. 1, for a suitable distance suiiicient to accommodate ordinary cop It has its margins in-turned slightly, as s own at 8 in Fig. 10, thus forming onehalf of a chamber 10.,

A co y holder 9 is slidable vertically on the gui e late 7 and said copy holder comprises a p ate similar in construction to the guide late but adapted to fit around the orwar face of said plate, as shown in Fig. 10, its side flanges 11 being clamped loosely about the guide plate so as to allow the copy holder to slide on said plate. The copy holder extends above the guide plate and has upper end of the chamber 10.

The guide plate 7 has secured thereto on its rearward side a plurality of supporting rods 12 and 13, as will be noted in Fig. 1. There is a pair of arms 12 13. The upper rod 12 is secured rotatably within the plate 14 secured to the guide plate. It has a centrally extending arm 15 to which is secured a tension spring 16, extending downwardly toward the center of the plate, and attached to a bracket 17 on said plate. The said rod 12 has a curved portion 18 therein forming a sort of crank arm beyond which the rod is bent outwardly, then bent upwardly and forwardly,-and is secured to a marker 19 by means of a clamp 20 on the rearward side of said marker. The rod 13 is alsosecured to the back of said guide plate by means of the clamping bracket 14. It is tion and has a crank arm 21 thereon, the rod being, curved upwardly similar to the arm- 12-and secured beneath the clamping bracket and'a similar pair' rotatable in this conned/I05 below the arm 12. This construction will be readily understood by reference to Figs. 1 and 3.

The marker 19, which against the forward face by means of the arms 12 rule or straight edge, the upper edge of which forms a marker for the line of copy which is being reproduced. The outer ends of the marker have thereon pulleys 23 which are rotatable upon pins 24, supported on their outer ends by a bracket 25 secured at the ends of the marker.

Two lateral supporting arms 26, one at each side of the copy holder, are secured to the back of the guide plate at a point approximately midway of the plate. These arms may be made integral, if desired, approximately as shown in Fig. 10. The central portion between the two arms is secured adjustably to the plate by means of bolts 27 secured Within one of a series of openings 28 in said plate. The arms extend forwardly from the rearward side of the plate and have the ends thereof recurved to form brackets 29 for the support of the pulleys 30. Said pulleys are mounted upon a cross pin 31 extending through the bracket thus formed and allowing the rotation between the two sides of the bracket of the pulleys 30. I

A flexible cord or line 32 may be extended around the pulleys and 23 at both sides of the holder, the lower portion 32 of which allows attachment thereof to the carriage, or other similar moving part of the typing device. The upper portion of the line, shown at 33, has secured thereon a pointer 34 which is adapted to move with the line and has a point extending upwardly slightly beyond the edge of the marker 19.

The copy holder 9 is adapted to be moved vertically upon the guide plate by means of a line and reel. The line is secured at one end in an opening 35 in the lower end of the copy holder and is extended upwardly, between the two plates, within the chamber 10, to a pulley 36, which is mounted upon the guide plate within said chamber at the upper end of said plate. The line is then extended downwardly around a pulley 37 which is mounted upon the supporting frame 1 at the base. A pulley 38 is mounted in a vertical position upon the auxiliary supporting plate 39, secured to the bracket 4, previously described. The line which may be numbered 40 is extended about this pulley and forwardly along the support 39 for engagement about a drum or reel 41. 4

The auxiliary is held resiliently of the copy holder and 13, comprises a supporting plate 39 extends forwardly from the bracket 4, preferably at the right of the operator, to a point spaced conveniently within reach. It has a forheight of the h ward supporting leg 42, and its opposite sides have upwardly extending plates or flanges 43, which form a support for the transverse shaft 44 upon which the reel 41 is rotatable. It will be noted that the body of the supporting base is U-shaped and has, in effect, a channel iron construction.

Between the two side plates 43 the reel 41 is journaled. Theshaft 44, upon which the reel is fixed, rotates in the said plates and has, on opposite sides thereof, ratchet wheels 45. The line 40 is wound about said reel and secured thereto as shown at 46.

The reel is rotatable to wind up the line 40 thereon by means of a pawl 47 formed upon a bell crank lever pivoted at 48 and aving its upper arm formed into a handle 49 by means of which the pawl may be operated. The said pawl is pivoted upon a lever arm 50 which is curved downwardly at its forward end and pivoted to a cross pin 51 between the two side plates 43. It has a downwardly extending lug 52 thereon in which the pin 48 is pivotally supported. The forward end of the lever 50 is extended within the reach of the operator and forms a handle 53 by means of which the pawl 47 may be depressed. The said pawl 47 is held in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheels by means of a spring 54 secured at 55 to the forward end of the lever 50. The lever is in turn held in a raised position by means of a spring 56 secured to said lever at and to the plate 43 at 57.

A second pawl 58 is pivoted at 59' to the side plates 43, its lower end being curved inwardly toward the ratchet wheels 45 and adapted to engage the teeth thereof. It is held in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel by means of a spring 59 secured to the upper arm 60 of the pawl and at its opposite end to a pin 61 in one of the side plates 43. It will be noted that the awl 47 is directly above and in front of the pawl 58 so that when the arm 49 of the forward pawl is depressed, it will throw the pawl 47 out of the ratchet wheel, bringing the same into contact with the pawl 58, and serving to disengage said pawl 58 also from contact with the ratchet wheel, thus releasing the reel so that the line may unwind, when the force of gravity causes the copy holder to fall. A curved spring 62 is secured at- 63 upon the base plate and extended around the forward end of the ratchet wheels, serving to protect the acting slightly as a brake to prevent too rapid rotation thereof.

A lateral arm 63 is formed upon the shaft 44 having a thumb nut 64 thereon where by the rotation of the shaft 44 may be readily accomplished. The upward movement of the lever 50 through the action of the spring engagement with forward side thereof andv mam- 56 is limited by an arm formed upon a bracket 66 adjustably secured at 67 to the side plate 43, as shown in the drawing. The thumb nut 68 extending through a slot in said bracket allows the arm .65 to be set at any desired height relative to the said lever 50.

The auxiliary base plate 39 may be swung on the pivot formed by the pin 6 into a position parallel with the base plate 1. It is adapted to be held in position extending forwardly from said plate by means of a hooked latch 69 pivoted at 70 upon the plate 1 and engaging at its forward end about an arm 72 extendingrearwardly from the auxiliary plate 39, as shown best in Fig. 4. This allows the auxiliary base plate to be swung out of position when the device is not in use, in. an obvious manner. It is desired. that the marker .and the pointer'both be operated automatically, when desired, by the movement of some part of the typing machine. \Vhen the device is to be operated by the carriage of the typewriter, as will be most commonly the case, I have devised the mechanism shown in the, drawing for accomplishing this purpose. To move the pointer 34 a bracket 73, shown in Figs. 1, 8 and 9, is secured to the rearward frame of the carriage shown fragmentarily at 74. Said bracket has thereon an upwardly extending plate 75 which is bent forwardly to form a hooked end 76, best shown in Fig. 9. On the forward side of the plate 75 is pivoted a dog 77 which has its upper end curved forwardly and hooked at 78 directly beneath and within the hooked end 76 of the plate. A space 79 is thus formed between the plate. and the dog, which is adapted to receive the line 32 of the pointer. When the dog 77 is swung upwardly on its pivot, it is adapted toclamp the line within the space 79 and hold it firmly in engagement with the typewriter carriage. This clamping engagement is accomplished by means of a latch-pivoted onthe plate 7 5 at 80 and having an upwardly extending arm 81? curved on its upper end to form a cam to engage beneath the lower hooked end of the dog and force it into clamping position. The dog 77 has a short arm 82* extending forwardly on its lower side to be engaged by the arm 81 when the arm is swung out of clamping engagement with the dog. Thus when the upper arm 81 of the latch is moved to the right, it will release the dog and the arm 81 will engage the arm 82 upon the dog and throw it downwardly away from the hooked end 76 of the clamp. It will be noted that the engagement and disengagement, of the clamping device thus formed, relative to the line 32 may be quickly and easily made so that the line 32 may be adjusted in position relative to the clamp without material loss of time.

To move the copy holder 9 automatically which is extended along the base plate andsecured about a pulley 85 spaced somewhat from the center of the plate 1, and from thence it is extended upwardly about a ulley 36' in the upper end of the guide p ate, and from thence to the point 35' where it is secured tothe copy holder. It will, therefore, be noted that the rotation of the reel 81 will act to raise the copy holder upon the guide plate in the same manner as is done through the line 40, previously described.

The shaft 83, upon which the reel 81 is mounted, may be rotated through the operation of the carriage by means of a lever 86 secured on said shaft at a point even with the carriage of the typewriter. The lever 86 is rotatable on the shaft 83. It has its upper end perforated at 87 to provide means for connecting the same with the carriage of the typewriter. Its lower end is extended beyond the shaft 83 and has pivoted thereon a dog or pawl 88.

Immediately adjacent the lever 86 is a ratchet wheel 89 fixed to the shaft 83 and rotatable therewith. The dog 88 upon the lever 86 is heldresiliently against said ratchet wheel to engage the teeth thereof by means of a spring 90. There is also a pawl 91 secured adjacent the latch wheel upon an arm 92 and adapted to press firmly against the teeth of the ratchet wheel 89 through its own resiliency.

Mounted in the up-turned end 84: of the and against the forward end of the pawl 91.

It will thus be seen that by rotating the shaft 93 through the crank arm 96 the arm 97 maybe thrown against the dogs 88 and 91, forcing them out of engagement with the ratchet wheel in an obvious manner. The

.lever 86 is held resiliently toward the arm 92 by means of a spring 94 so as to normally throw the lower end and the pawl 88 backwardly when it has been advanced by the movement of the typewriter carriage.

When the copy holder has been raised to its highest point and it is desired to drop the same, this may be done by the mechat the opposite side thereof.

nism just described, releasing the ratchetwheel and the reel whereby the weight of the copy holder will cause it to drop unreeling the line from the drum. This sudden drop of the copy holder is counter-balanced to some extent and thus slowed up by the use of a weight which may be placed in the line, as shown at 98 in Fig. 1. It will be noted that a weight 98 may be placed in either of the lines 40 or 84, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. A holding rod 100 may be employed to assist in holding the copy against the holder. This holding rod may have a plurality of friction sleeves 101 thereon to bear against the copy on the forward side of the holder. The rod 100 is ex tended beyond the sides of the holder and then bent downwardly and rearwardly and through the side wall of the holder 9, and across the back of said holder and the end up-turned at 102 engages beneath the curved wall of the holder. The opposite end of the rod is similarly extended across the rear-' ward side of the holder and secured beneath Intermediate rings 103 may be employed to secure the rods together, as shown in the drawing. This holding rod is simple and efficient in its action, and the resiliency of the rod itself serves to hold the friction'members 101 resiliently pressed against the forward face of the holder.

In order to adapt the use of the pointersupport for the pulley shaft or pin 104 at.

one end of the frame and the pin 105 at the opposite end thereof. A pin 104 serves to support a compound pulley having several stages, of which I have shown 3 indicated at 106. The compound pulley 106 is formed with three drums of varying sizes, the middle one of which is shown as receiving the line 32, described in the previous embodiment. At the opposite end the line' 32 engages about a smaller pulley 107 mounted upon the pin 105. A second pulley 108 is mounted upon the same pin 105 and spaced from the pulley 107 by the plate 109. A second line or cord 110 is secured about the pulley 108 at one end and then about the larger drum upon the pulley 106. It is preferably wound twice around the drum of the pulley 106 so that its movement will cause the rotation of said pulley, and thus serving to reel up or unreel tasters the line 32, also engaging about the said pulley. This device 1s connected to the clamping bracket 73 upon the typewriter carriage by engaging the same upon the the cord 01' line 110. The movement of the carriage will then cause the movement of the said line 110, causing rotation of the pulley 106. This will cause the feeling up of the line 32connected with the pointer. It willthus be seen that the movement of the pointer will be slowed down somewhat by this connection. If it is desired to speed up the movement of the pointer, as when larger type is to be copied, the cord 110 may be engaged about the smaller drum on the pulley 105 so that its movement will increase the speed of the movement of the cord 32, to which the pointer is attached.

The arrangement will be seen to be a simple device for increasing or decreasing the speed of movement of the cord 32 and the pointer 34 attached thereto.

It is to be understood that while I have shown the larger pulley 106 at the right of the operator, the position of these pulleys may be reversed without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is also to be noted that the position of the actuating means for the copy holder may be changed without materially altering the invention. The reel 81 may be placed at the right of the machine, if desired, or the reel 41 at the left. The positioning of these actuating devices relative to the copy holder is one of convenience only and may be changed without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention.

A spring controlled arm 115 is provided for holding the pages of the copybook out of the way during the operation of the de vice. {This arm has a curved length of wire pivote'd at 116 to the rearward side of the holder. There is an arm 117 extending diagonally downward away from'the pivot to which a spring 118 is attached, said spring being secured at its opposite end to the frame of the holder and thus tending to draw the arm 117 to the right of its position, as shown in Fig. 2. The upper arm of the attachment is extended to one side and then curved upwardly and downwardly to contact with the upper rim of the holder. A clamping member 119 is formed to lie along the upper edge of the holder, said clamping member being held resiliently against the holder by means of the spring 118, as will be obvious from Fig. 1.

It is believed that the operation of the device has been made clear. The copy which is to be reproduced will be secured behind the holding rod 100 and the marker 19 will be held resiliently against the copy so as to indicate the line which is being copied. \Vhen the device is operated by hand, the line 84 will be unreeled and will have no elfect whatever upon the movement of the copy holder. I The operating lever 50 and its connected pawls will serve as a means to reel up the line 40 'upon the drum 41 and movement show the character which is to be reproduced. If the words upon the copy will not always coincide with the number of words which may be printed upon the page which is being written, thereby making it necessary to carry one, or more, word over from one line to the next, the pointer may be adjusted at the endof the line by releasing the cord within the space 79 of the clamp and moving the pointer to indicate the desired word to be written at the beginning' of the following line, and when the word has been reproduced and the matter written, the pointer may be again moved to the beginning of the subsequent line,and the clamp on the plate 7 3 may be again secured to the line causing the pointer to be moved with the operation of the carriage. The use of the compound pulley disclosed in Figs. 10 and 11 has already been described and may be available for use where small or unusually large type areto be copied.

When the cop holder is to be moved automatically with t e operation of the carriage,

as may be sometimes done where the lines and characters are the same size on the copy as in the typewritten matter, the carriage will be connected at one end to the lever 86 by any desired means. The movement of the carriage to the right when a new line of matter is to be typed will cause the reel 81 to be rotated to wind up the cord 84 and the length of the lever 86-will be such that the movement of the carriage through the usual distance will reel up the cord 84 a sufficient amount to lift the copy holder through the distance of one line. The length of the lever 86 may be varied by connecting the carriage thereto through any one of the series of openings 87 in said lever.

When a page of a cop has been typed and a new page is starte the copy holder 9 will be dropped to its lowest point in the position shown in Fig. 1. This is accom plished by the use of the automatic device just described by moving the crank arm 96 on the shaft 83 so as to throw the arm 97 on said shaft'to the left of the position shown in Fig. 1 so as to release the pawls 88 and 91 and allow the weight of the copy holder to drop, unreeling the line 84 from the reel. The speed of the dropping copy holder will be regulatedby the weight 98, as

previously set forth.

- In releasing the copy holder in the handoperated device controlling the reel 41, the arm 49 of the pawl 47 may be depressed to release both the awls 47 and 58, thus allowing the copy hol er to drop in the same manner as previously described.

It is of advantage when the de 'ce thus described is to be stored to fold the device into compact shape and this-is assisted by the pivotal connection between the supporting base 39 and the latch 69 by means of which it is held in open position, as described. The further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and while I have illustrated certain details of construction, it is to be understood that these details are illustrative-of one embodiment ,only of the invention, and that various changes may be made therein for adapting for attachment to different forms of typing machines coming within the scope of the invention, and I do not wish to be confined to the specific details herein set forth and described.

What I claim as new and desire to protect I by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a typing machine having moving parts thereon, a copy holder adjacent thereto, a line marker extending horizontally across the front thereof, means to adjust said'holder vertically relative to said marker, a pulley at each end of said marker, a pair of lateral supporting arms extending from each side of said holder, pulleys at the endsof said arms, a flexible line extending around all of said pulleys and across the face of said marker, at inter on said line, and means to move sai line and said pointer along said marker actuated by the said moving parts.

2. In combination with a typing machine having a keyboard and a carnage movable through the operation of said keyboard, a copy holder adjacent said carriage, a line marker extending across said holder, means to adjust said holder vertically relativeto said marker, pulleys at each end of said .marker, laterall extending arms on each side of said hol er below said marker, pul

leys at the ends of said arms, a flexible line extending around said. pulleys, a pointer on said line adjacent the edge of saidmarker, and means on said carriage engaging said line to move it when said carriage is moved.

3. In a device of the character described, a keyboard, a member moved laterally through the operation of said keyboard, a; cop holder, a line marker relative to which sai holder is vertically movable, a flexible line supported for movement along said marker, a pointer on said line, and means on said member detachably engaging said line to move said 'line and said pointer along said marker, said means comprising a hooked plate, a clamping dog pivoted thereon, and a cam latch to move said clamping dog against said plate.

4. In a device of the character described, a keyboard, a member moved laterally through the operation of said keyboard, a copy holder, a line marker on said copy holder, a flexible line supported for movement along said marker, a pointer on said line, and means on said movable member to move said line and said pointer along said marker, said means comprising a hooked plate, a clamping dog pivoted to said plate, a latch pivoted on said plate below said dog, a curved upper end on said latch engaging said dog whereby said dog may be forced into clamping engagement with said plate.

5. In a device of the character described, a supporting base, an upright guide plate on said base, a copy holder slidable vertically on said guide plate, pulleys on said plate, a flexible line passing over said pulleys and secured to said copy holder, a reel spaced forwardly from said plate, a ratchet wheel on said reel, a pawl held resiliently in engagement with said ratchet, means to rotate said reel, and means to disconnect said rotating means and said pawl from said ratchet, said line being connected with said reel for moving said copy holder.

6. In adevice of the character described, a supporting base, an upright guide plate thereon, a copy holder slidable vertically on said guide plate, a pulley at the upper end of said guide plate, a flexible line secured to the lower end of said copy holder and passing over said pulley, a reel spaced forwardly from said plate, said line being connected with said reel and adapted to be wound thereon to raise said copy holder, and means to rotate said reel, comprising a ratchet on said reel, a lever, a spring pressed pawl thereon, a second pawl engaging said ratchet, said spring-pressed pawl having an arm thereon whereby it may be depressed to release both said pawls from said ratchet for the purpose described.

7. In a device of the character described, a guide plate, a copy holder slidable vertically on said guide plate, a flexible line connected with the lower end of said copy holder and adapted to raise said copy holder, a reel upon which said line is adapted to be wound, a ratchet on said reel, a lever pivoted adjacent said reel, a pawl on said lever, a second pawl engaging said ratchet below said first mentioned pawl, and an arm on said first mentioned pawl whereby both said pawls may be released from said ratchet.

8. In combination with a typing machine having a keyboard and a carriage movable through the operation of said keyboard, a copy holder adjacent said carriage, a guide plate upon which said copy holder is slidable, a flexible line secured to the lower end of said copy holder, a reel spaced forwardly from said guide plate, said line being connected with said reel to raise said copy holder, and means to rotate said reel comprising a ratchet wheel thereon, a lever secured on the axis of said reel, a ratchet 'wheel on said reel, a pawl engaglng said ratchet and adapted to prevent rotation thereof in one direction, a second pawl on said lever engaging said ratchet, said second pawl being arranged to release said first mentioned pawl when desired.

9. In a device of the character described, a supporting base, a guide plate thereon, a copy holder slidable vertically on said guide plate, automatic means to raise said copy holder relative to said plate, a retaining arm pivoted on the upper end of said copy holder said arm being curved to rest on the upper end of said copy holder and a spring acting to hold said arm resiliently against said holder.

' 10. In a device of the character described, a supporting base, a guide plate thereon, a

- copy holder slidable vertically op said guide plate, a line marker secured on said plate and extending across the forward face of said copy holder, a plurality of resilient arms secured to the rearward side of said marker, a pivotal attachment for said arms with said plate, and resilient means connectingwith said arms to hold said marker against said copy holder.

11. In combination with a typing machine having a keyboard and a carriage movable through the operation of said keyboard, a copy holder adjacent said carriage, a linemarker adjacent said holder, means to adjust said holder vertically relative to said marker, pulleys at each end of said marker, a flexible line extending around said pulleys and forming a closed circuit, and means to connect said line to said carriage at any desired position of said carriage, a pointer on said line adjacent the edge of said marker, said line and pointer being movable simultaneously with said carriage.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature this 29th day of July, A. D. 1925 LOUIS T. MATHEWS. 

